Peyton Watson is walking into Cleveland with a big role waiting for him.
The former Nugget arrives on a four-year, $88 million extension, and the expectation is that he’ll be plugged in as the starting small forward right away. There’s also a clear path for him to bounce between small forward and power forward, giving the Cavs another big, versatile piece next to Jarrett Allen or Evan Mobley when one of them is off the floor. Mario Hezonja or Jaylon Tyson can also fill in at the SF spot in those lineups.
Cleveland is going to ease him in at first, though. A reasonable early-season workload sits in the 28-32 minute range, with the number eventually settling closer to 30-34 minutes as the year goes on.
That kind of usage should still leave room for production. Watson averaged about 15 points in 29 minutes per game last season, helped by a stretch of games on a short-handed roster.
His best month came in January, when he topped out with a 35-point outing on a highly effective night. In Cleveland, with more stars around him, the scoring profile figures to shift a little more toward catch-and-shoot opportunities.
A fair projection has him in the 13-15 points per game range, with some nights climbing higher if the Cavs are missing key pieces. The rest of the stat line should be steady, too: about seven rebounds and three assists, along with the kind of defensive activity that shows up fast. Watson is projected for 1.3 steals and 1.7 blocks per game, and the source points out that he is the best shot-blocking SF to land with the Cave since Larry Nance Sr.
The full projected line lands at 14-7-3-1.3-1.7, while shooting 53% from the field, 39% from 3PT and 76% at the line.
The new-look Cavs are expected to be a dangerous group on paper, and Watson is a big part of why. As Kevin O’Connor noted, they could finish as high as No. 2 or as low as No. 9, but the addition of Watson should keep them out of play-in territory. Watson has also been working out with LeBron James and Kevin Durant, a sign of just how much time he’s putting into sharpening his game before this next chapter begins.
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For a team trying to sort through new pieces and a deeper rotation, the biggest storyline may not be the results so much as who gets the early opportunities. Peyton Watson is set to make his debut, and the Cavs recent transactions only add to the sense that this fall could be about more than just shaking off rust before the regular season opener on Oct. 22. [Read more 🡒]